THE IN-BETWEENERS

Lunch on the big day hogs all the Christmas limelight, yet there are so many other days (and occasions) where you need to churn out great food and drink at this time of year. From share-over-a-game snacks to a comforting plateful to snuggle up with on the sofa alone, here are the winners

Meatball and wild mushroom tagliatelle

THE HIT-THE-SPOT DINNER FOR ONE

Movie, sofa, duvet, you and this guaranteed-to-please, readyin-15-minutes snack. Perfect.

Rarebit with fried egg

SERVES 1. HANDS-ON TIME 15 MIN

Rarebit with fried egg

FOOD TEAM’S TIPS

This recipe will make more onion than you need. Keep in the pickling liquid for 3-4 days and add to salads or sprinkle over spicy food.

It’s an easy recipe to double up on if there are two of you on the sofa.

• 80ml cider vinegar

• 2 tsp caster sugar

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

• 50g extra-mature cheddar, grated

• 20ml dark ale or stout

• ¼ tsp mustard powder

• Pinch paprika

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 slice good quality bread

• Splash flavourless oil for frying

• 1 large free-range egg

• Small handful watercress

• ½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Put the vinegar, sugar and a large pinch of salt in a bowl with the onion, toss to combine and set aside. Heat the grill to medium high.

About Delicious Magazine

The Christmas & New year Delicious fulfils all your festive cooking needs. As well as our best-ever big day lunch, there are gifts for foodies, Christmas shortcuts, and three wise men – Hugh F-W, John Torode and Nigel Slater bearing recipes and tips. There are also cocktails and canapés, dramatic desserts, GBBO's Frances Quinn's cake styling and frangipane mince pies. And because there’s still regular cooking to do, we’ve included a Timesaver Meal Planner, too.